An already crucial round in the Clio Cup France

Three weeks after the victories of David Pouget and Nicolas Milan in Valencia, the Clio Cup France returns home to begin the second half of the season. At the Circuit Dijon Prenois (July 13-15), 34 Renault Clio Cup cars will be present for this round that could be of prime importance in the different categories.

As a cornerstone of the Renault Sport history, Dijon was the scene of the French constructor’s first F1 success and the legendary duel between Gilles Villeneuve and René Arnoux. Nearly 40 years later, the 3.801km circuit still has everything required to put on a great race, beginning with its undulating characteristics that make each sector a proper challenge!

Already a race winner at Nogaro and Pau, Nicolas Milan (Milan Compétition) won again in Valencia. While he has seen Benoît Castagné (Raiwoit Racing) reduce his lead to eight points, the driver-preparer knows that the dropping of the worst result is, for now, in his favour. At Dijon, the tension could ratchet up a notch between the two leaders.

After picking up a lot of points in Spain, Dorian Guldenfels (GPA Racing) and David Pouget (GPA Racing) will be out to keep their respective momentum going and get back in the title chase ahead of the summer break. Both will have to keep an eye on Thibaut Bossy (TB2S), who is always fast at Dijon as his two podium results last year confirm.

Several outsiders are aiming for a strong weekend to keep their hopes alive. Pierre-Étienne Chaumat (TB2S) will rely on his ability to run consistently at the sharp end of the order to pull away from brothers Yoann and Julien Baziret (Setup Racing) and Alexandre Gadois (Autosport GP), who are far from giving up on their ambitions.

In top ten at Dijon last year, Jérémy Curty (TB2S), Guillaume Savoldelli (TB2S) and Kevin Jimenez (GPA Racing) could light up the field once again, but the tenacity of competitors such as Mathieu Lannepoudenx (Milan Compétition). Vincent Brunerie (Milan Compétition), Lionel Viguier (Pole Position 81) and Jérôme Da Ros (Tierce Racing) cannot be overlooked.

Junior category leader, Anthony Jurado (Setup Racing) will try to regain the upper hand from Spaniard Marc De Fulgencio (Team VRT), who was on top form three weeks ago. The Hérault-based driver’s mission will be to continue to pull away from Adeline Prudent (Prudent Compétition), Pierre Tierce (Tierce Racing) and Corentin Tierce (Tierce Racing).

While Stéphane Auriacombe (Tierce Racing) still leads in the Gentleman classification, the Montpellier native can no longer afford to make a mistake against Emmanuel Raffin (Autosport GP) and David Pajot (Vic’Team), who ran the table in Valencia! Currently outside the top three in points, defending champion Mickaël Carrée (T2CM) intends to bounce back as soon as possible. Seven drivers in this category will be in action at Dijon with the return of Luc Galmard (Milan Compétition), Éric Rollery (Team Rollery) and Franck Traynard (Autosport GP). Usually entered as a duo with his son, Franck and Edwin Traynard will each have their own car this weekend!

The return of Denis Bernardi (Sportech) and Yann Vitchen as well as Arnaud Gautier with the Setup Racing team will also be worth keeping an eye on while Antoine Prétin (GPA Racing) will be behind the wheel of a Clio Cup for the first time this season.